Boris Johnson compares his £67k cabinet post to a zero-hours contract

Conservative MP and Mayor of London Boris Johnson sarcastically compared his new cabinet post in Westminster to a zero-hours contract, insisting the lucrative promotion will not detract from his mayoral duties.

Johnson is the first
Mayor of London to serve in the cabinet simultaneously. Speaking
on Tuesday as Prime Minister David Cameron announced his new
cabinet, Johnson said he will have no trouble juggling his role
as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip with his mayoral
duties.

In addition to his elected roles, he also writes as a newspaper
columnist.

Boris Johnson: Cabinet post is a zero-hours contract,not a
job... Admittance by #Tories that
zero-hours contracts are not #Employment!
#UK

Zero-hours contracts are perceived by economists as a symptom of
a broken system that prioritizes profit over the welfare of
workers. Johnson’s remark has attracted widespread criticism
online, with social media users denouncing his comment as
inappropriate.

Probed on his appointment to Cameron’s all-blue cabinet, Johnson
said he had accepted a role that ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband had
attempted to outlaw.

“It is a zero-hours contract. It is definitely not a job. I
have accepted a role that Miliband wanted to ban,” he said.

In April, ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged to scrap
zero-hours contracts on the grounds they are
“exploitative” and offer employees no security.

Speaking at an event in Huddersfield, Miliband argued zero-hours
contracts serve the interests of employees while staff suffer.

“You shouldn’t be left at the beck and call of an employer
who can ask the world of you but give you no security in
return,” he said.

In contrast to average zero-hours contract workers in Britain,
Johnson takes home a hefty salary. For his MP role in Uxbridge
and South Ruislip he earns £67,060 per annum, while he is
estimated to reap £143,911 each year for his position as Mayor of
London.

Watching Boris Johnson making light-heart of zero-hour
contracts was like watching Hitler make a joke about taking a
shower Arsewipe.